Icon "Theotokos Mostyschenskaya"
History of acquisition
On the night of May 18-19, 2000 (the day of the Old Testament righteous man Job the Long-suffering and the birthday of the Passion-Bearer Tsar Nicholas II), a parishioner of our church S. had a revelation that a temple icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with the image of Her four earthly inheritances to be written soon. Images of the saints: the righteous Enoch, the prophet Elijah, the apostles Andrew the First-Called and John the Theologian, Christ for the sake of the holy fool Theophilus, the royal passion-bearers and blessed Alipia, will be at it. The truth of the revelation was confirmed by the seer Vera from Bortnichy, to whom S., with the blessing of Fr. Rostislava went for advice, and said that the name of the icon painter was Nikolai.
At that time S. had familiar artists in Kiev, but Nikolai was not among them. However, in the conversation, the priest with a smile pointed out to him the stranger whom S. often saw in the church. It turned out that a resident of the village Mostyschi Nikolai Nikiforovich Rog is an artist and is just going to paint the very icon about which S. was discovered, and his intention was preceded by an unforgettable event.
Nikolai Nikiforovich told how, as if some force lifted him dozing out of bed on the night of Saturday to Sunday, May 24, 1987. He saw how the dark night sky suddenly brightened and covered with pink-blue clouds. A luminous point appeared behind them and, swiftly approaching it, took the image of the Mother of God standing on a cloud – a beautiful Woman in shining white clothes.
Holding in her right hand a cup filled with a transparent drink, the Mother of God invited Nikolai, frozen in fear, to drink from it. He realized with horror that this was the cup of his sorrow - as retribution for the sinful life of a communist, who often gave his artistic talent to portray communist leaders – and felt that he could not accept it from the hands of the Mother of God. Then the merciful Intercessor drank half of the tart drink, and Nikolai reluctantly drank the other half.
For another moment, the Mother of God gazed into his eyes, then easily rose into the heavenly blue and disappeared into it as a luminous point.
Waking up on Sunday morning, Nikolai took a wonderful vision for an ordinary dream – he did not go to church, did not turn to repentance and prayer, but began to work in the yard on a circular saw, spreading boards for repairs.
And then the trouble happened. Almost all the boards were ready when Nikolai was distracted for a moment, forgetting about the working saw. And although the left hand lay on the barrier, more than a meter from the blade, four fingers on it were somehow cut off. He only remembers profuse bleeding and the fact that he did not feel pain. And in the hospital, waking up from the shock, he recalled a night vision and realized that he had really drunk the contents of the sorrowful cup measured from above.
Sorrows healed Nikolai from unbelief, he became a churchman and dreamed of capturing the face of the Mother of God that he had seen once on canvas. But the Lord gave the determination to start work only after fourteen years. Finally, with the blessing of the confessor, the artist painted an icon, which was consecrated on September 21, 2001.
The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in honor of her icon "Mostyschenskaya" is composed of the texts of the akathists to the icons of the Mother of God "Iverskaya", "The Tsaritsa (Pantanassa)", "Tenderness (Seraphim-Diveevskaya)" and the akathist to the Assumption. Kontakion 13 – from the Akathist to the icon "The Queen of Loaves".
Description
Icon size: 2.80 x 1.20 m, background – dark blue. In the center - the image of the Most Holy Theotokos in white robe, on a cloud. There is a cup of sorrows and illnesses in Her right hand, the left hand touches the rainbow going down from above. Under the cloud with the image of the Virgin Mary – the images of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the prophet Elijah. Below them are the four earthly portions of the Mother of God and the image of the Royal Passion-Bearers. Above in the center – the image of the Savior. To His left are images of the righteous Enoch and blessed Alipia, to the right – the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian and the holy fool for the sake of Christ Theophilos. Below the inscription "Holy Russia, keep the Orthodox faith."